Chapter 17—Expedition Updates

That night on the Deep Space Communicator, Jesse shared news of the unexpected outcome of their attempt to recover the stolen crystals. Once he stopped talking, there was a long silence. "Are you there?" Jesse asked.

"I'm here," Chaz said, "trying to take it in, man. It's a wild story, Jess. But I'm psyched for you—for the mission."

"It is an intriguing development," Nikki said, "but can you trust Madame? You're too trusting, Jesse. Don't forget, she did terrify everyone in her witch persona."

"You weren't there, Nik. We do trust her—implicitly. She wants to use her powers to help us with the remaining expeditions. We asked her about the witch antics. She wanted to scare us is all—to make sure we were worthy of the crystals. She knows they're enchanted and has been protecting them for years. Can you imagine these crystals ending up in the wrong hands? It makes sense now."

"What kind of powers?" Chaz asked. "Powers like the crystal angel has?"

"We don't know for sure, but I've seen her do things such as move objects. She made the benches out of nothing. She senses the future and can watch what's happening in real time in the silver waterfall. That alone could come in handy. Now that I think about it, maybe I can watch your expeditions from here."

"Well, as reluctant as I am to succumb to a witch's spell like you have, Jesse, we have no choice but to use her powers to our advantage. And think about it; she knows everything now, so we're stuck with her. I just hope she doesn't sabotage us in the end."

"Not all witches are bad, Nik," Chaz said. "You're kind of witchy yourself sometimes, you know, in the best sense of the word."

"Thanks, Chaz. I think," Nikki said, feeling a bit thrown by his comment. If anyone could throw Nikki off balance, it was Chaz.

"Enough debating about the attributes of witches, guys," Jesse said. "We're running out of time. We've only found five of the twenty crystals, and I'm pretty sure that's it for this mine. And think about it: I had a head start because the twins had already discovered two, not to mention the location. You guys need to find fifteen more before the next full moon." He paused to let that reality sink in. He felt a quiver of uncertainty.

"You've got the time and day calculations for your own full moon, right?"

"Roger that," Chaz said. Nikki didn't respond.

"Then give me your reports. How're your expeditions coming?"

"My report is excellent," Nikki piped in with unusual excitement in her voice. "The Happy Valley team is in place and we went into the crater today for a preliminary search. On the team, we have Ranger, the best...."

"I miss my dog," Jesse interrupted, feeling as if half his heart were still in Happy Valley.

"I'm giving my report here. And it's our dog."

"Sorry," Jesse said.

"As I was saying, we have a team. Ranger will be with us, and Jake's on board. Remember, he's an experienced trekker, especially in the lower Cascades. He hikes a lot with his dad, who's a trail guide. Jake's pumped about this expedition. At least what he knows about it. He's listing and gathering what we need. And, believe it or not, Devin has agreed."

"You got Devin, the mapmaker? That's great."

"Yeah, thanks to Jake's and my persuasive skills. I'm not sure we could do this without Devin's expertise. He knows the crater region and already has maps, so we won't waste time with that. Our last person is Christina. She dances ballet. I'll never relate to her airy-fairy ways, but Ranger insisted."

"What do you mean, Ranger insisted?" Jesse asked.

"Christina was nearby when I approached Jake about the expedition, and as we were talking, Ranger trotted over, grabbed her skirt, and pulled her right to us. I was mildly entertained, but Jake was impressed. She wasn't happy about it, but Jake thinks she's enormously intuitive, which would speed up the search. I haven't told them the full story of the crystals, only that they have unique chemical properties and we need to find them for research purposes."

"Good work, Nik," Jesse said.

"Ditto, Nikki," Chaz added.

"What about you, Chaz? What's going on in New Zealand?"

"The kids I'm staying with suggested I talk to Jojo, their Maori friend, who's a tunnel guide for tourists. He has a sense of where to look. Intuition is strong here, and the Maori believe their ancestors direct them even after they die. You've got your witch; I've got my ancestors. It's been cool hanging out, and we're all pretty keyed up to start. We're launching tomorrow."

"Outstanding," Jesse said.

"You didn't call my work outstanding," Nikki complained.

"Yes I did."

"You didn't; you said 'good work, Nik.' I believe my recruitment efforts were at least as outstanding as Chaz's."

"Well, that's what I meant," Jesse retorted.

"No you—" Nikki began, but Chaz cut in.

"Will you two stop bickering like an old married couple? It's making me nauseous. On the other hand, I'm hungry, so let's finish up so I can go eat."